Valentine's Day Escapes

Head into the Big Apple for a romantic V-Day weekend for two.

By: Melissa Pheterson

Be sure to “book” the “Love Room” at Library Hotel

Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday this year, mercifully followed by President’s Day, to create a leisurely weekend of love. For those looking to escape the county for a change of scenery, here are some Valentine’s weekend getaways in the Big Apple.

PASSION AT THE PLAZAPlaza Hotel
Fifth Ave at Central Park S
(212) 759-3000
The premises may be renovated, but the opulent French décor remains as romantic as ever. The Plaza Hotel’s Sunday Night Sleepover Package for Westchester residents includes Sunday-night accommodations, $100 food-and-beverage credit at The Champagne Bar (caviar tasting, anyone?), and a full breakfast for two in The Champagne Bar on Monday morning. Rates start at $695.

AS YOU WISH70 Park Avenue Hotel
70 Park Ave
(212) 973-2400
When Cupid’s arrow strikes, the concierge at this Murray Hill hotel turns into a “romance sommelier” to indulge all your Valentine’s whims, from butler-drawn baths and strewn petals to Champagne turn-down and breakfast in bed. (A Big Apple Babymoon Package includes a prenatal massage and late-night delivery of ice cream and pickles.) Rates start at $499.

BY THE BOOKLibrary Hotel
299 Madison Ave
(212) 983-4500
If quality time together is long overdue, check into this midtown Library—just down the block from the majestic public one. Its Pink Romance Turndown Package includes Veuve Clicquot Rose Champagne, pink Champagne truffles, and a rose-petal turndown, all to savor while perusing a collection of love books arranged in the room, courtesy of the hotel librarian. More brazen bookworms can request the Erotica Package, with the old standbys—strawberries, chocolate—spiced with edible Honey Dust and the Kama Sutra pocket guide. Rates start at $475. When you stroll arm-in-arm back to Grand Central, linger over cocktails at the elegant Campbell Apartment before Metro-North returns you to reality.

Start Valentine’s day with a special live jazz brunch at the legendarily romantic carriage house ($75 per person); then head to Korea Town’s Juvenex for its Romantic Couples Getaway Treatment: a private room with tropical flowers and candles, a massage with seasonal fruits to nibble, and a private tub-soak with Korean-style scrub ($395 per couple). Finish the evening with a cruise around the harbor—complete with Champagne in keepsake flutes, a half-dozen roses, and a private table with an ever-changing water view ($222.95 per person).

TEA AND SENSUALITYInn at Irving Place
56 Irving Pl
(212) 533-4600
The inn’s gracious brownstones in Gramercy Park capture romantic New York at its best. In addition to Champagne upon arrival, a three-day package includes cocktails and tea for two in Lady Mendl’s Tea Salon. After the liquid refreshment, head downtown to Aroma Kitchen & Winebar for its Valentine’s Day Dinner, a four-course feast served in a candlelit grotto (36 E 4th St, 212-375-0100).